[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 54 (Wednesday, March 20, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13027-13029]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-6690]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION


Notice of Availability of Model Application Concerning Technical 
Specification Improvement To Eliminate Post Accident Sampling 
Requirements for Boiling Water Reactors Using the Consolidated Line 
Item Improvement Process

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the staff of the Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission (NRC) has prepared a model application relating 
to the elimination of post accident sampling requirements for Boiling 
Water Reactors. The purpose of this model is to permit the NRC to 
efficiently process amendments that propose to remove requirements for 
Post Accident Sampling Stations (PASS) from

[[Page 13028]]

Technical Specifications (TS). Licensees of nuclear power reactors to 
which the model applies may request amendments utilizing the model 
application.

DATES: The NRC staff issued a Federal Register Notice (66 FR 66949, 
December 27, 2001) which provided a model safety evaluation (SE) and a 
model no significant hazards consideration (NSHC) determination 
relating to elimination of requirements for PASS for BWRs. The NRC 
staff hereby announces that the model SE and NSHC determination may be 
referenced in plant-specific applications to eliminate requirements for 
post accident sampling. The staff has posted a model application on the 
NRC web site to assist licensees in using the consolidated line item 
improvement process (CLIIP) to eliminate PASS-related TS. The NRC staff 
can most efficiently consider applications based upon the model 
application if the application is submitted within a year of this 
Federal Register Notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Dennig, Mail Stop: O-12H4, 
Division of Regulatory Improvement Programs, Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001, telephone 301-415-1161.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Regulatory Issue Summary 2000-06, ``Consolidated Line Item 
Improvement Process for Adopting Standard Technical Specification 
Changes for Power Reactors,'' was issued on March 20, 2000. The CLIIP 
is intended to improve the efficiency of NRC licensing processes. This 
is accomplished by processing proposed changes to the standard 
technical specifications (STS) in a manner that supports subsequent 
license amendment applications. The CLIIP includes an opportunity for 
the public to comment on proposed changes to the STS following a 
preliminary assessment by the NRC staff and finding that the change 
will likely be offered for adoption by licensees. The CLIIP directs the 
NRC staff to evaluate any comments received for a proposed change to 
the STS and to either reconsider the change or to proceed with 
announcing the availability of the change for proposed adoption by 
licensees. Those licensees opting to apply for the subject change to TS 
are responsible for reviewing the staff's evaluation, referencing the 
applicable technical justifications, and providing any necessary plant-
specific information. Each amendment application made in response to 
the notice of availability will be processed and noticed in accordance 
with applicable rules and NRC procedures.
    This notice involves the elimination of requirements for PASS and 
related administrative controls in TS for BWRs. This proposed change 
was proposed for incorporation into the STS by the BWR Owners Group 
(BWROG) participants in the Technical Specification Task Force (TSTF) 
and is designated TSTF-413. TSTF-413 is supported by the NRC staff's SE 
dated June 12, 2001, for the BWROG topical report NEDO-32991, 
``Regulatory Relaxation for BWR Post Accident Sampling Stations 
(PASS),'' which was submitted to the NRC on November 30, 2000. The 
BWROG request followed the staff's approval of similar requests for 
elimination of PASS requirements from the Combustion Engineering Owners 
Group (CEOG) and the Westinghouse Owners Group (WOG). TSTF-413 can be 
viewed on the NRC Web site, www.nrc.gov.

Applicability

    This proposed change to remove requirements for PASS from TS (and 
other elements of the licensing bases) is applicable to BWRs.
    To efficiently process the incoming license amendment applications, 
the staff requests each licensee applying for the changes addressed by 
TSTF-413 using the CLIIP to address the following plant-specific 
verifications and regulatory commitments. The CLIIP does not prevent 
licensees from requesting an alternative approach or proposing the 
changes without the requested verifications and regulatory commitments. 
Variations from the approach recommended in this notice may, however, 
require additional review by the NRC staff and may increase the time 
and resources needed for the review. In making the requested regulatory 
commitments, each licensee should address: (1) That the subject 
capability exists (or will be developed) and will be maintained; (2) 
where the capability or procedure will be described (e.g., severe 
accident management guidelines, emergency operating procedures, 
emergency plan implementing procedures); and (3) a schedule for 
implementation. The amendment request need not provide details about 
designs or procedures.
    Each licensee should verify that it has, and make a regulatory 
commitment to maintain (or make a regulatory commitment to develop and 
maintain):
    a. Contingency plans for obtaining and analyzing highly radioactive 
samples from the reactor coolant system, suppression pool, and 
containment atmosphere;
    b. A capability for classifying fuel damage events at the Alert 
level threshold (typically this is 300 Ci/ml dose equivalent 
iodine). This capability may use a normal sampling system or 
correlations of radiation readings to coolant concentrations; and
    c. an I-131 site survey detection capability, including an ability 
to assess radioactive iodines released to offsite environs, by using 
effluent monitoring systems or portable sampling equipment.

Public Notices

    In a notice in the Federal Register dated December 27, 2001 (66 FR 
66949), the staff requested comment on the use of the CLIIP to process 
requests to delete post-accident sampling requirements from BWRs. The 
staff had previously issued a notice of availability (65 FR 65018, 
October 31, 2000) on the use of the CLIIP to process requests to delete 
post-accident sampling requirements from plants with Westinghouse and 
Combustion Engineering designs. The notice of availability for 
Westinghouse and Combustion Engineering plants followed the staff's 
disposition of comments received in response to a notice requesting 
comment (65 FR 49271, August 11, 2000). Each request to eliminate PASS 
requirements by licensees for Westinghouse and CE plants using the 
CLIIP has also included notices prior to issuance of the subject 
license amendments and upon issuance.
    TSTF-413, as well as the NRC staff's safety evaluation and model 
application, may be examined, and/or copied for a fee, at the NRC/s 
Public Document Room, located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville 
Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland. Publicly available records are 
accessible electronically from the ADAMS Public Library component on 
the NRC Web site, (the Electronic Reading Room).
    The staff did not receive comments following the notice soliciting 
comments about modifying the TS requirements regarding post accident 
sampling for BWRs. The staff has made some minor changes to the model 
safety evaluation as a result of internal reviews. A specific change 
involves the paragraph that read:

    The staff notes that redundant, safety-grade, containment 
hydrogen concentration monitors are required by 10 CFR 50.44(b)(1), 
are addressed in NUREG-0737 Item II.F.1 and Regulatory Guide 1.97, 
and are relied upon to meet the data reporting requirements of 10 
CFR part 50, Appendix E, Section VI.2.a.(ii)(3). The staff concludes 
that during the early phases of an accident, the safety-grade 
hydrogen monitors provide an adequate capability for monitoring

[[Page 13029]]

containment hydrogen concentration. The staff sees value in 
maintaining the capability to obtain grab samples for complementing 
the information from the hydrogen monitors. * * *

    The revised paragraph reads as follows:

    The staff notes that containment hydrogen concentration monitors 
are required by 10 CFR 50.44 and are relied upon to meet the data 
reporting requirements of 10 CFR part 50, Appendix E, Section 
VI.2.a.(ii)(3). The staff concludes that these hydrogen monitors 
provide an adequate capability for monitoring containment hydrogen 
concentration during the early phases of an accident. The staff sees 
value in maintaining the capability to obtain grab samples for 
complementing the information from the hydrogen monitors. * * *

    The change was made to reflect a likely revision to the 
requirements in 10 CFR 50.44 and does not significantly affect the 
technical basis of the staff's findings or revise the verifications and 
commitments identified in the model SE.
    As described in the model application prepared by the staff, 
licensees may reference in their plant-specific applications to 
eliminate PASS-related TS the SE (as revised above), NSHC 
determination, and environmental assessment previously published in the 
Federal Register (66 FR 66949, December 27, 2001).

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 13th day of March 2002.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
William D. Beckner,
Program Director, Operating Reactor Improvements, Division of 
Regulatory Improvement Programs, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 02-6690 Filed 3-19-02; 8:45 am]
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